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Hi, friends! I hope you had a great weekend and are ready to kick off this week. Next Monday is Memorial Day so hopefully most of you will have a nice 3-day weekend next weekend. Just a little something to get you through the week 😉 Thanks for sticking with me through my lack of posting lately. I’ll get back to my normal routine one of these days, but for now, this seems to be working for me, so I’m going with it.

I’m still waiting to start my new job so I’m currently enjoying a little extra downtime. It’s nice to only be working at 2 gyms right now. Ha, never thought 2 jobs would be when I got to relax! So, where exactly have I been the past few weeks?

Well, Nathan’s sister came to visit for a week. She was here for his birthday which was spent at the Giants’ game. Birthdays and baseball go together like baseball and beer.. which, of course, we had.

Day 1! Drakes Brewery, straight from the airport. We don’t mess around!

A birthday win!

Finally made it to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Photo-bombing my own picture.

One of our new favorite wineries.

We also celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary last week. It’s so crazy to think that it’s already been 2 years. And at the same time, it’s only been 2 years. I bet you wouldn’t be too surprised to learn that we celebrated with food and drinks.

Surprise picnic at work!

Aperol Spritz to take us back.

Oh, those porcinis and fresh pasta ❤

Holy Margherita!

We try to get back to our honeymoon as much as possible, so an impromptu picnic at Nathan’s office and Pizzaiolo for dinner had to happen. It was named one of the best pizzas in the Bay Area and it was definitely delicious; the crust was the most light, fluffy, tender crust we’ve ever had. That said, Il Casaro still wins for our favorite pizza since Italy. Next month, we’re going to see Book of Mormon. I called that the anniversary gift so we’re also planning on going to a nice dinner that night before the show. Any recommendations around the Orpheum Theater?

We’ve also made a successful foccacia bread at home [and by we, I mean Nathan..] which is HUGE for us! AND I’m dying over the fruit lately. Yogurt + cherries + nut butters [peanut and almond because I couldn’t decide] = heaven.

In the fitness world, I’m finishing up my 30 Day Kettlebell Challenge and have loved it. It’s been so refreshing to change it up and get my butt kicked in 25 minutes or less! Since I’ve just mainly been following that program this month, I’ve cut my cardio back significantly to typically one 30 minute run per week in addition to a quick warmup on the elliptical before my workouts. It has certainly helped me to fit my workouts in between clients. And speaking of clients, they’re picking up too! I’m searching for pockets of time but I’m so excited to have more clients these days. Only up from here, right?

My meal planning has been lacking a little bit lately, so let’s all get back to that, shall we?

After a 2 week blogging hiatus, I wanted to break the silence. Grab a cup of coffee; this could be a bit lengthy!

The break was totally unintentional, but absolutely needed. As you may recall, I had friends in town a couple weeks ago and while they were here, I decided I just didn’t feel like breaking out the computer.

Passing up on a few blog posts during their trip made me realize I was just going through the motions. Monday? Gotta get a weekend recap up. Tuesday? Link love. Wednesday? Pictures of food. There really wasn’t much behind it. And how many times can you look at a bowl of my oatmeal?I get it.

I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been working on figuring out a good balance with all of my jobs and as things continue be thrown up in the air, I just didn’t need the extra stress of needing to get a blog post up. Other aspects of my life were suffering; I was constantly exhausted from trying to juggle 3 different jobs, working some crazy hours, wracking my brain at different ways to get more personal training clients, cooking, cleaning, and somehow fitting in my workouts.

Thankfully, some changes have been made. Nathan is helping out with cooking and cleaning more [who knew all I needed to do was ask for help?!] and last week I gave my 2 weeks at Athleta. I’m swapping Athleta for another training gig, so while I’ll still be working at 3 different places, ideally, I’ll be cutting back on hours and make more dough. That would be lovely, yes? Good changes to start.

But as I’ve been going through the motions with blogging, it seems I’ve also been doing the same with my workouts. That’s not a good look for me. I told Nathan the other day that I’m a rare breed—one that consistently works out and eats healthy [with the exception of when we have visitors..] and yet still continues to gain weight. It’s true. My friend told me I just look “a bit thicker.”

Let’s get really real here, shall we? I mean, we’re all friends.. Since moving to California, I’ve mostly ditched the scale. It was a good thing for me and I would occasionally break it out just to check in. Recently, I was feeling like my clothes were just fitting a little tighter and in general, I was uncomfortable. Well, when I say a couple extra lbs found their way back to me over the past 6 or so months, I actually mean 15. Ouch. That’s not a pretty number. So yes, thicker it is. And it sucks. But I’ve decided that the old saying rings true—you really can’t continue to do something the same way and expect different results.

So now it’s time for me to get back on the wagon, really put the effort back into my workouts, and figure out how to find the balance that’s right for me. The blog with fall into its place in time, but right now I know I need to put most of my focus on finding balance in my jobs and at home.

Thanks for sticking with me today; I’ve been looking for the words to write this post and it’s nice to finally hit “publish.”

Friday the 13th is a good day. This one in particular happens to be the birthday of one of my favorite baseball partners. He got me started on the game when I was just a wee little one and has taken me to countless games over the years.

He taught me home team first [GO O’S!], and with him being from New York, Yankees second [I might lose some followers over that one..]

He also taught me how to drive stick.. if you consider me being 5 years old and sitting in the passengers seat shifting with all of my strength in both hands to be “driving.” I certainly did! It was the best cruising around, listening to my Sesame Street tape and singing along to Cookie Monster’s theme song. And once in a while turning on 105.7 Rouse & Company for some good oldies. What can I say, we were crazy!

He’s the best dad and grandpa we could ask for!

And in just 1 1/2 short weeks, we’ll be cheers-ing it up in California, just like last year. I can’t wait to see my parents again and have some good times celebrating!

Happy [waddle] day after Thanksgiving! I hope you had a wonderful day yesterday and were able to spend time with your friends and family. I ate entirely too much[who doesn’t?] and I fully intend on doing the same thing tonight!

Trust me. There was WAY more food!

The Friday after Thanksgiving last year, Nathan and I packed up and shipped out to California. Thanksgiving was certainly an emotional day and I can’t believe 1 year has already passed. It’s pretty ironic that we’re back in Baltimore this week but it definitely feels good to be home. Over the past year we’ve had our ups and our downs. Nathan and I have had so many new experiences together that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I’ve learned so much in that time.

Nathan is my best friend.
We couldn’t have done this without each other. We are each other’s biggest cheerleaders and strongest support systems. Moving away from all of your family and friends into an unknown world is scary and trying. Like I said, we’ve had our ups and downs, but ultimately, this experience has made us stronger and grow closer.

Making friends is tough!
For real, I don’t know how kids do it. There has been a lot of trial and error and I’ve had a few people stick. I’m not really sure why they put up with me, but they do!

I’ve done a lot of growing up.
I haven’t had much of a choice. Before Athleta and personal training, I spent a lot of time at home by myself. If there’s one thing that really makes you think about what you’re doing with your life, it’s spending hours of time alone. Sure, I may still question what I really want to do when I grow up, but hey, I’m only 27. I still have some time to figure that out.

California is a pretty cool place to live.
Nathan and I have gone on so many mini road trips and fun adventures that we couldn’t have done in Maryland. From wineries to beaches right around the corner to incredible hikes to eating our way through the city, we’re certainly not taking our surroundings for granted.

Home is where the heart is.
After everything is said and done, I love just being home. Every time we come home, it feels like we never left. The time that I’ve been able to spend with my family and friends is unbeatable. I cherish every minute with my grandparents and it’s so fun watching Jilly grow. Staying with my parents has been fun too; any extra time I can get with them, I’ll take!

It’s been a hell of a year and I can’t wait to see what the next year holds for us. I have a good feeling about 2015; it should definitely be another learning year but I think now that we have our feet set a bit more, things will fall into place.

Food for Thought

Does your family have a second night of Thanksgiving?
Have you moved far from your family before? What did you learn from the experience?

Isn’t it funny how your birthday really just sneaks up on you as you get older? When you’re young, it’s a whole big to-do.. your parents bring Dunkin Donuts munchkins into school, you get a big party with lots of cake, and you get a whole day about you. Well, I decided to take the day off of work today, Nathan’s coming home early to take me to lunch, and Saturday [after work] is all birthday fun! It’s the little things that make me realize how lucky I am.

This birthday is definitely a bit different for me; it’s my first in California so it’s going to be full of all new experiences. Last year, I was lucky enough to be surrounded by a ton of family and I loved it.

This year already kicked off with a great start—I skyped with my mom who sang happy birthday to me at 12 am EST. The time difference is still weird sometimes but she is always there to remind me that I was born in Eastern Standard Time 😉 And I’ll be back in Baltimore for more celebrations in just a few days.. I can’t believe it’s here already and I’m so looking forward to it.

My 26th year brought quite a bit of change with the big move across the country. It’s really taught me a lot about my life, myself, my marriage, and so much more than I could have imagined. As someone who isn’t a big fan of change, giving up my career to explore what I think I want to do with my life next has been really scary. And while it’s been difficult, I couldn’t have asked for a more supportive husband to encourage me and cheer me on throughout the process. In the last year, I’ve learned even more that Nathan truly is my best friend; we couldn’t have done this move without each others’ support and I’d say that’s a hell of a lesson to learn.

I may not be with my family and friends this time around, but I think I’ve got a pretty great group of people to celebrate with out here.

Not to mention how special it’s going to be when I get to see the fam again.

Things seem to really be falling into place and 26 was a hell of a year. I can’t wait to see what 27 will bring!

Like this:

Whoops, sorry about leaving you hanging the past couple of days! We’re back in California after a too-short whirlwind of a trip back home. I really missed home and it felt so good to be back. I already can’t wait till we head back in August.. only 53 days! But who’s counting, right?

I ended up having a ton of freelance work to do while I was home but I didn’t let that get in my way of family time. I ended up staying up until 1:30 a.m. one night and 3:15 a.m. the night before my flight to get my stuff done. It was worth the lack of sleep though to get the extra time with my family and friends. I’m also kind of in love with my little niecey..

He’s such a good dad 🙂

Soaking it in

This made my whole trip ❤

My girl

Grandpa’s silly!

Love those big blue eyes.

How could I not be in love, right? She wasn’t feeling so hot but I snagged all of the snuggles I could get out of her.

And to top off the trip home..

A little blue crab [obviously the best around] and polishing off the wedding cake with the fam. My sister-in-law flew back to California with us and yesterday we dragged her to a winery yesterday to kick off her first full day here.

I think it helps that we’re all equally pooped! There will be more running around during the rest of her trip, but we’re taking it easy on her [and ourselves!] to start.

It’s been a really great past few days and I’m looking forward to spending the next few with my SIL and get a little bit back into a routine. Happy Thursday, friends!

I’m thinking it’s going to be a multiple big cup-of-joe kind of day. I just picked up my phone to take a sip of coffee.. yea.

I’m thinking I’m really glad I went to the gym this morning, even having not slept well, because I already feel like I’m reaping the rewards. And I know that I wouldn’t have wanted to move later in the day!

Currently I’m looking into when and where I can get my CPR/AED certification so I can take my CPT exam. Exciting. Nerve-wracking. Stress-inducing. Maybe part of the reason I’m not sleeping as well?

I’m also looking into all of the fun perks of my new job at Athleta. I’m only 2 shifts in right now, but I’m really liking it. [And I’m not just saying that because they might be reading!] Also, if you’re in the bay area, follow my store on Twitter.. they’re always posting about events and great in-store deals!

Currently I’m thinking about the anniversary trip. Man, it was fun. And surprisingly enough, we didn’t really overdo it this time. Maybe because wine country is in our backyard now and we can always go back for more!

I’m also thinking about how glad I am to have done my detox before retox week before the trip. This week is definitely about getting back to normal eats again, but in a different way. I mentioned last week that my body was appreciating the lack of grains and starchy vegetables, though by the end of the week, I’ll admit I was feeling tired. Maybe my body didn’t appreciate such a change.

I’m thinking that I’ve had a hell of a time really trying to figure out how to eat lately. That nice warm bowl of oats this morning? I was staying away from that last week, but maybe it’s something my body does want. Am I over-thinking? Yea, probably. It seems like every time I think I have it figured out, things change. I’m really just wanting someone to tell me how to eat. It shouldn’t be this hard, right?

Currently I’m thinking about how ridiculous it is that Northern California apartments don’t have air conditioning. I understand that it doesn’t get into the upper 80s/low 90s that often, but that’s just silly business. We’ve had our fans running constantly.

And I’m thinking about all of the fires in Southern California and hoping that everyone is staying safe.

Currently I’m counting the days till our trip home. I can’t wait to get my hands on this little nugget!

Check out those big blue eyes! Only 43 days and she’s mine 🙂

And currently I’m off for more coffee. That first cup didn’t last long!